Out Of The Woods
by ofdreamcatchers
Summary: When five regular teenagers make it big, none of them expected the cost to be so high. For Emma Swan and Regina Mills that price was almost too high. Caught between doing what they love or going public with their relationship, the pair are forced to keep their love a secret. Will the support of their friends, family, and fans be enough to help them make it out of the woods?
1. Chapter 1

Hi! So this fic is six months in the making and I am proud to finally be able to share it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Prologue

"Why don't you just go and talk to her?"

Regina jumped at the sound of David's voice right next to her ear and involuntarily flung the book she had been trying to read across the room. She turned to glare at the boy, but David was unfazed as he hopped over the back of the couch with a loud bark of laughter. He planted himself on the cushion right next to Regina and stole a handful of popcorn from the bowl in her lap.

"You are very annoying," Regina grumbled, pulling the bowl out of his grasp.

"And you're avoiding my question?" David pointed out with a smug grin.

Regina rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over stomach, not meeting David's eyes.

"I can't," she finally mumbled. Had David not been sitting millimeters from her he would have completely missed it.

"And why not?" David asked, his features softening at the uncharacteristic vulnerability he was seeing in his friend.

"Look at her," Regina whined pointing to where Emma was sitting at the large dining room table playing a very loud game of Monopoly with a group of the other contestants.

"What?"

Regina rolled her eyes and rubbed a hand down her face. "Ugh, why are we friends?"

"Because you think I'm charming," David answered smartly earning himself an unimpressed look. "I don't get what the big deal is. You've got no problem talking to her when we're all rehearsing. Why is it such a big deal to go over there and talk to her now?"

Regina wishes she had David's casual attitude about things like this. Lucky him. Every time she even tried to talk to Emma, outside of giving constructive instructions while they were working with the choreographer or vocal coaches, she would chicken out and run in the other direction. It was embarrassing and Emma probably thought Regina hated her.

"It's not that simple," she argued, unable to explain what she was feeling in a way that her friend would understand.

"It really is," he argued back. "You go over, you sit down, and you talk to her. Seems pretty simple to me."

"You don't understand," Regina grumbled, leaning back into the couch, sulking.

"I think you're making a big deal out of nothing, Regina," the boy countered, starting to get frustrated with his friend. "You like her right?" He asked.

"Obviously," Regina answered with an eyeroll.

"Then do something about it," he told her, elbowing her in the ribs to get his point across. "Don't just sit over here and let your chance slip away because you were too afraid to do anything about it. We're not gonna be here like this forever and you'll only regret it later if you don't."

Regina was silent for a moment before a smile spread across her face. "When did you get so insightful?"

"I have my moments. Now go," he said snatching the bowl of popcorn from her lap and shooing her from the couch.

She stood up and took one step toward the dining room before spinning around to face David again. David raised an eyebrow at her when she didn't say anything. Regina chewed at her bottom lip and brought her hand up to her stomach.

"What's wrong now?"

"What if she doesn't like me?" Regina questioned in a small voice.

"Trust me, she does," David assured her. "Now go."

Regina smiled one last time before turning on her heel and heading for the table.

X

Emma couldn't keep the grin off her face as she took the stairs two at a time. She skipped down the hall to the room she was sharing with Neal, Killian, David, and Regina and swung the door open.

Killian, who had been lazily strumming his guitar in his bunk, jumped at the sudden intrusion.

"What the hell, Swan?" he demanded his voice squeaking slightly.

"She talked to me," she announced, her grin splitting her face in two as she closed the door behind her to avoid any unwanted ears.

"Who?" Killian questioned, not entirely following.

"Regina," Emma said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She crossed the room to sit on the edge of David's bed.

That got Killian's attention. He set his guitar aside and scooted to the edge of the bunk, giving Emma his full attention.

"Really? How'd that go?"

"It was awesome," Emma told him with a sigh.

"What, no details?" he questioned when Emma didn't say anything else on the matter. "You've been chewing off my ear since bootcamp about her and that's all I get? No fair, mate."

Emma playfully rolled her eyes at the boy. "You have no patience."

"Excuse me for getting invested. Out with it, Swan."

"There were a bunch of us playing Monopoly downstairs, but Regina wasn't she was just in the living room reading a book. David was the first one out of the game and I saw him go sit with her. Next thing I know, Regina tapped me on the arm and asked if she could sit and watch. I couldn't even talk, I was so shocked. It was embarrassing, all I could do was nod. One of the guys flipped the board when he lost all his money so everybody quit then, but Regina stayed and asked if I wanted to play Connect 4. I said yes of course and that's how I spent the last hour," Emma told him with a dreamy expression on her face.

"That's it?" Killian questioned.

"What do you mean "that's it"?" Emma countered, raising her eyebrow in confusion.

"I mean, you ran up here to tell me you played a boring game with the girl you've had a massive crush on since we started this competition. I would have thought you'd have kissed her with that ridiculous grin you've got on your face, mate," he complained, throwing his hands up in exasperation and flung himself back against his pillows.

Those two girls were so frustrating. Anyone with eyes could see that Emma had a huge crush on Regina and Regina, who didn't seem to like anyone, had a soft spot for Emma. The only problem was they were too afraid of being rejected and making things awkward for the group to do anything about it. But from what David told Killian about the chats he had with Regina, they had nothing to worry about.

"Up until this afternoon, I thought she hated me," Emma argued, slightly offended by her friend. "I call that a win. You could at least pretend to be happy for me."

"Congratulations, you played a child's game for an hour. Happy?" Killian asked with a smirk.

"You're an ass," she said and tossed a pillow at the boy.

"I think you should just get it over with and kiss her already."

"Were you not listening when I said I thought she hated me?" Emma questioned, catching the pillow Killian threw back at her.

"Have you met the girl? I think that's just her reaction to stress, it's me she really doesn't like," he pointed out.

"You're kind of an acquired taste, buddy," Emma told him with a shrug.

"I'm a delight."

"No, you're not." The grumbled response came from the bunk above Killian where Neal had been quietly snoring up until now.

"You wound me, love," Killian pouted, dramatically slapping his hands over his heart.

"Shut up," Neal grumbled, rolling over to face Emma. "But he is right Em. You and Regina have nothing to worry about, so just tell her already."

"You guys don't get it," Emma countered looking down at her hands to pick at the skin around her fingernails.

"If you say so," Killian said reaching for his guitar again.

"I think you're worried for nothing," Neal offered. "Just go for it. Sometimes you've got to take the risk."

Emma let Neal's words sink in for a moment before she nodded her head. She knew he was right of course and Emma really wanted to believe that she could just go and tell Regina that she liked her and everything would be alright and they'd live happily ever after as famous pop stars. Life didn't work like that; it wasn't a fairytale, especially not for her. She had to make sure this wasn't going to blow up in her face and ruin their friendship.

"Baby steps," she finally said in a quiet voice.

Neal sighed, but nodded his head. "Whatever you say. Don't take too long though, Em."

"Yeah, I don't think I can take much more of this," Killian added absently as he plucked at his guitar.

Emma nodded and smiled up at Neal while flipping Killian the bird.

"Now that we're done gossiping, do you mind?" Neal grumbled, rolling over and pulling the blanket over his head.

Emma stood from David's bed and left the boys to their quiet time with a small smile on her face. Regina talked to her for almost an hour without yelling. That was something to celebrate.

~Five Weeks Later~

It was the fifth week of live performances and they were killing the competition. Nobody expected the group made up of previously eliminated solo acts to make it very far, but by some miracle they exceeded everyone's expectations and gaining hoards of fans by the minute. From the second they sang at a judge's house, they captured America's hearts and now had a very real chance of taking the whole thing.

They were scheduled for a 5 am rehearsal and for once the boys were the first ones up. Neal was in the bathroom while Killian and David were stumbling around in the semi-darkness, trying to get dressed.

"Are the girls up yet?" David questioned with a big yawn.

"Swan! Regina!" Killian yelled. When no sound came from the girls' side of the partition that separated their bunk from the boys', he shrugged and continued searching the mountain of clothes on the floor for a t-shirt. The girls' side of the room didn't look like their closets exploded.

"Wake up the whole house why don't you," David whispered, giving the other boy a look.

"Why the hell are you two screaming?" Neal grumbled as he trudged out of the bathroom with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth.

"The girls aren't up," Killian informed him. "I'm on it," he said pulling a shirt over his head and smirking at the other two.

"Keep it down while you're at it," Neal muttered, starting to look for his own clothes in the pile by the window.

Killian rubbed his hands together before tiptoeing around the temporary wall right up to the bunk. In the dark, he could see the outline of Regina in the top bunk, her arm hanging over the edge. He smirked to himself as he sucked in a deep breath.

"Wake up sleeping beauty!" He yelled as he flipped on the light.

Regina jumped and started to sit up blinking against the light as Killian cackled.

"What's going on?" She muttered sleepily.

"What the fuck man?!" Emma yelled, shooting out from under the blanket behind Regina. She looked pissed.

Killian's face fell and his eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"David, you owe me twenty dollars," he hollered with a chuckle.

Regina growled and threw a pillow at his head.

"What?" David questioned, confused, hurrying around the wall. "No way," he whispered when he saw Emma and Regina in the top bunk together.

"Neal, get a load of this," Killian called, quieter this time, for the other boy.

"Why are you still yelling. It's 4 o'clock in the morning for crying out loud," Neal complained as he came to a stop beside David.

"Look who finally got a clue," Killian pointed out smugly.

"About damn time. It's time to get up."

"Always a pleasure, Neal," Regina sassed at his retreating back.

"Fuck off, Regina."

"I think they're happy for us," Emma whispered, pressing her forehead into Regina's shoulder.

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes at the blonde.

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***What do you think? Should I continue?


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! Here is the next installment of this tale. The last chapter kind of set up the concept of this fic and this one gets into the story I want to tell.

I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Chapter 1

 _August 2013_

"Do we have to go?" Emma whined from her spot sprawled out on the king sized hotel bed.

"You know we do," Regina answered her shortly from where she was standing in the bathroom brushing her hair. "Now get dressed before they come in here and make you."

Emma groaned and rolled out of bed. Regina was right, as always. The last thing they needed was Blue bursting in and reading her the riot act for making them all late. She went over to the closet and pulled the outfit their stylist picked out the day before and slid into the super skinny jeans.

"This is ridiculous," she grumbled as she struggled to pull them up over her thighs.

"I know," Regina said stepping up behind Emma and wrapping her arms around her waist. She knew Emma wasn't just talking about her ridiculously tight pants.

"They're just going to try and pull us further apart," Emma mumbled, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

"We'll get through it," the brunette tried to assure her. "We always do."

In all honesty, Regina wasn't feeling much better about their upcoming meeting. It was something they had with Gold twice a year, once at the beginning of the year and once about halfway through to go over their plans, goals they all had, and to set up and go over the expectations management had for them and they way they were perceived by the public and their fans. Ever After had a very strict image they wanted the stars they managed to portray and unfortunately for Emma and Regina it did not include two members of their most successful band being in an open homosexual relationship.

"I love you," Emma said, turning in Regina's arms and meeting her big brown eyes.

"I love you, too." Regina responded without hesitation. She leaned up to place a quick peck on the taller girl's lips before lightly patting her ass. "Now get dressed before we're late."

"So bossy," Emma whispered picking up her shirt and pulling it over her head.

Regina playfully rolled her eyes at her girlfriend, "I wouldn't have to be if you didn't wait until the last minute to do everything."

"I get the feeling we're not just talking about getting ready anymore."

"You'd be correct, my dear."

Anything Emma was going to say was cut off by the sound of loud banging on the hotel room door followed by the familiar sound of a keycard sliding in the lock granting one of their handler's access. Blue appeared around the corner moments later, giving the girls a disapproving look.

"Regina it's time to go," she said in a clipped tone, tapping her foot impatiently.

Regina didn't acknowledge the older woman's presence, instead she looked over at Emma. The blonde had gone from having a goofy smile on her face to looking like a lost puppy in a matter of seconds and it killed Regina to see her love like that. She quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms tightly around Emma and held her close.

"I love you," she whispered. "You make me strong and I love you. Whatever happens today, remember that."

"I will," Emma promised, squeezing Regina just as tight. "I love you, too."

"We don't have all day," Blue sighed testily, interrupting their moment. "Regina, let's go."

Regina sighed and rolled her eyes, but stepped away from Emma and grabbed her jacket from the edge of the bed. Blue turned on her heel and Regina made a face behind her back, causing Emma to giggle into her hand, as she followed her out of the room.

Emma sighed when the door closed behind her girlfriend and she sank to the bed with her head in her hands. She knew this meeting wasn't going to be pleasant, they never were. That didn't mean it got easier. All her life Emma hadn't been a fan of letting other people tell her what to do and now when she found the girl she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, she couldn't tell anyone about it. And it was killing her.

She'd heard about there being a price to fame, she didn't know the price was losing herself.

Another knock on the door pulled Emma out of her thoughts, she waited for the whoever was on the other side to enter, but no one did.

"Emma are you ready?"

Emma felt her mood improve fractionally when it was Archie's muffled voice that came through the door. While he worked for Ever After, Archie was a little more sympathetic to their situation and wasn't as cruel as some of their handlers could be. Emma wouldn't say she liked him, but he was a comforting presence when things got rough.

"Yeah," she called and stood from the bed. She grabbed her red leather jacket from its spot on the bed and headed for the door.

She opened the door and shot the balding man a small grimace before following him down the hall, scuffing the toes of her boots on the generic carpeting as they went.

They were silent on the walk to the stairs, something Emma appreciated, but as soon as the heavy door closed behind them Archie started speaking softly to her.

"Robin's here," he told her and Emma growled under her breath. "I thought I'd warn you before we get down there."

"Thanks," Emma grunted, at least she wasn't getting blindsided this time.

Robin was Regina's "boyfriend". Ever After hired him a year ago to act as Regina's beard. It was just one of many tactics Ever After used to fend off rumors that she and Emma were together. Emma hated the guy on principle and wanted to vomit every time a picture of him and Regina surfaced in gossip magazines or online. Regina was her girlfriend and she would give anything to be able to show the world that.

"They're just going to walk outside get a few pictures and then he'll be gone again. Quick and painless," Archie tried to assure her.

"It's never painless," Emma admitted honestly, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Will we get to ride together?"

Archie was silent for a moment and Emma knew the answer before it left his lips.

"I'm afraid not," he said with a sigh, avoiding looking at the girl. "There's a bit of a crowd outside, we can't have them getting the wrong idea. You'll be riding with David and Neal."

"Whatever," Emma grumbled and swiped at her eye, she wasn't going to cry. Regina would get upset if she saw her crying.

"I know how hard this is for you," Archie started, but Emma cut him off.

"No you don't," she snapped, her eyes watering involuntarily. "So save it."

Archie was silent the rest of the way down the stairs and held the door open for the blonde when they reached the bottom.

Emma blinked against the harsh light of the emptied hotel lobby. There were members of their security team blocking the entrances to the lobby and a few of the other staff members hovering near the door. Everyone got a little anxious before they went out with a big crowd around, but sometimes it couldn't be avoided. Emma's eyes fell on Regina who was sitting in an arm chair next to David, the pair laughing like there wasn't a hundred people in a flurry around them. Killian and Neal were sitting next to each other on a couch, they both looked exhausted, but Belle did an excellent job of making them look presentable. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Robin talking Blue in the corner, most likely going over his role for the afternoon.

Emma rolled her eyes and headed over to where the rest of her bandmates were sitting.

"Move over," she commanded, waving her hands for David to vacate his seat. She sat down and took Regina's hand and threaded her fingers together.

"You're mean in the morning," David complained, but relocated to the couch between Neal and Killian.

"When you can't hold your girlfriend's hand in public, you can be as mean as you want."

"She's got you there, love," Killian said, not lifting his head from the back of the couch.

"Sorry," David mumbled.

"You kids ready to go?"

The question came from Eugenia Lucas, better known as Granny, their tour manager. She kept them in line while they were on the road, they spent more time with her than their actual families. Granny did everything from get them to concerts on time to help David through an anxiety attack.

"No," Regina said, holding Emma's hand a little tighter.

"There's nothing I can do about that," she said and started giving them instructions. "Neal and Killian, you two are out first, then Emma and David and Regina will follow with Robin. Regina you know what you have to do. As for the rest of you, you don't have to get straight in the car, but I swear to gods if any of you try to make a run for it your ass is mine."

Granny stared each of them down to get her point across, all of them had gone rogue once or twice before a show and Granny was never amused by their antics.

"Let's get to it."

The five got up immediately and waited to be directed. Killian and Neal were shuffled out first and the crowd that had gathered started screaming the second they laid eyes on the boys. They both cringed at the shrill sounds but smiled and waved nonetheless as they each climbed into one of the black SUVs waiting for them.

Emma and David were next, they lingered near the fans and waved and smiled for pictures. Regina watched Emma from the door as the blonde's face lit up as she talked to a group of girls near the front of the crowd. They were Emma's favorite part of their job, touching all those lives and seeing them show their support and love. It was a shame she had to hide such a big part of herself for them.

"I think we're supposed to hold hands for this."

Robin's voice right next to her immediately irritated Regina, and she did her best not to let it show on her face. They were supposed to be the happy couple after all.

Regina didn't say anything, only held her hand out angrily. He wrapped his big sweaty hand around hers and intertwined their fingers. Regina kept hers straight, refusing to hold his hand the way she held Emma's. It didn't feel right. His hand was too big, his fingers too fat.

It was all wrong and all Regina could do was smile for the cameras, hoping the act they were putting on was convincing enough for management. Regina took a deep breath before tugging on the big sweaty hand in hers and stepping out the door, Blue and Archie right behind them.

The second they stepped through the door, they were greeted by the sound of teenaged girls screaming at the top of her lungs. Regina smiled genuinely in their direction and waved with her free hand. She wished she could go over and talk to them with David and Emma but the guy holding a camera a few feet away reminded her why she couldn't.

She heard the shutter of the camera and did her best not to grimace when Robin leaned in to kiss her cheek. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Emma looking at them with a pained expression. Regina shrugged away from Robin and thankfully Archie chose that moment to step in and escort him away. Regina didn't care where he went, she only had eyes for Emma at the moment. Her blood boiled at her inability to do anything other than give the blonde a small smile and watch as Marian, their head stylist, rushed forward to hand Emma a pair of sunglasses to cover up the tears in her eyes.

"This way," Blue instructed quietly. The hand she placed on Regina's back was cold, but the young woman allowed herself to be lead to the SUV where Killian was waiting.

"That went well," Killian said sarcastically when Regina slammed the door closed.

Regina sat silently in the seat breathing deeply, trying desperately to calm herself down, but it didn't work. Without warning Regina punched the back of the seat in front of her with a loud growl. It hurt like hell, but at least it gave her something other than how miserable she was being separated from Emma like this; how she was being forced to hide a part of herself that she was by no means ashamed of.

Killian chuckled when she threw herself against the seat, her hand cradled against her chest.

"Feel better?"

"No," she grumbled.

"I think someone's trying to get your attention," he said pointing to the SUV parked next to them.

Sure enough, through the dark tinted window Regina could see Emma waving wildly at her. Regina couldn't help but smile at the other girl's adorable antics and waved back.

 _I love you._ Emma signed before blowing a kiss. They'd picked up a couple simple signs to use onstage or when there were unwanted ears around. If they couldn't say it outloud they found other ways to express =themselves.

Regina pretended to catch the kiss and placed it over her heart with a smile. She didn't get the chance to return the "I love you" before Emma's SUV started to pull away, Regina's right behind it.

Killian made a gagging noise in Regina's ear earning him a slap in the chest and a glare from their driver.

"What was that for?" She demanded, glaring at the younger boy, rubbing her ear to stop the ringing in it.

"You two are sickening," he answered with a dramatic shudder. "Still all lovey dovey after three years."

"You're just jealous, maybe if you stopped dancing around your feelings for…"

Killian cut her off with a hand over her mouth but pulled it away in an instant when Regina bit his palm.

"We're not talking about my love life, mate," he said in a warning tone, rubbing at the indentations from Regina's teeth with his thumb.

"If you say so," Regina conceded. "I'm just saying you won't be happy until you do."

"Like you?" Killian challenged, looking her in the eye.

Regina saw the tiny flicker of pain in Killian's icy blue eyes and looked down at her hands.

"Yeah." She sighed. "Like me."

* * *

"It's so wonderful to see you all again," Gold greeted them as he entered the conference room where the band was waiting.

Killian and Neal offered tight smiles, David's face remained passive, while Regina glared and Emma looked down at her hands.

"How have you all been since I last saw you?" He questioned in his characteristic forced friendly tone as he took a seat across from them next to Blue and Archie.

It sent a shiver down Regina's spine and made Emma's skin crawl. There was something about the man that didn't sit well with any of them but they couldn't quite put their finger on it.

Nobody answered. Neal shrugged noncommittally and David mumbled something unintelligible, otherwise the room was silent, awkwardly so. Gold looked between the five of them for another long moment, the fake smile showing his gold teeth wavering slightly, before he cleared his throat and got to business.

"Everything seems to be on track for the year," he began flipping through the papers in front of him. "After tonight's show, you'll be taking a short break from the tour for the movie premiere and press before hand."

That got a reaction out of the singers. Neal rolled his eyes, David and Killian sighed, Regina clenched her fist in her lap, and Emma looked as if she was going to cry. They all knew what was coming. Press meant sitting for hours answering the same questions a hundred times, most of them no doubt unrelated to the movie itself. It meant PR scripts being drilled into their head for hours before they were allowed near the interviewers, with Blue, Archie, and Nova watching their every move to make sure they stuck to them. It was never a fun experience, for any of them.

Gold ignored their responses and continued as if they'd remained quiet. "You'll all attend the world premiere in New York on the 20th and the London premiere on the 29th and the movie will be out on the 30th. You all did a wonderful job, by the way," he added, looking up from his stack of papers briefly to smirk at them.

Regina rolled her eyes and let out an indignant sigh. The movie was a joke. It was supposed to be a real look at their lives on the road, but instead of being an insight into who they were the whole thing was a scripted mess with only a handful of honest moments. And now they were going to have to put on a happy face and promote it like it wasn't a huge slap in the face to them and their fans.

"Was there something you'd like to say, Miss Mills?" Gold questioned sweetly, though his tone was laced with malice they all could hear.

Regina met his gaze in challenge, staring down the menacing man for several moments. The room was silent and everyone was holding their breath just waiting to see who would back off first.

Eventually, after several grueling minutes for everyone else in the room, Regina sat back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Nothing it all," she answered smartly. "Please continue."

She watched the muscles in Gold's jaw jump before he cleared his throat and continued as if he'd never been interrupted. "You will have a few days off after the premiere and then back on the road for the last leg of the tour. The new album is set be released in November. I take it recording is coming along well, yes?"

"It's kind of hard to do anything when you move around as much as we do," Neal sassed, making Killian chuckle and Gold glare in their direction.

"I would imagine," he responded flatly.

"You're gonna love the album," Regina piped up with a smirk.

Gold spared her a glance and by the look on his face he wasn't convinced. The five were given a lot more creative input that they weren't allowed while their first two albums were in development. They all spent countless hours working with their team of songwriters, Regina and David putting in the most time, to develop the songs the way they wanted. They weren't given free reign, but being able to have a say in the lyrics was a step up from being told what they would sing.

"We're all looking forward to it," Gold replied, giving Regina a weary look. He may have a say in a lot of aspects of their lives, but the music was one thing he had no control over. Regina liked to rub that in his face often.

"I bet you are," she muttered and Gold ignored her.

"You'll have the holidays to yourselves," Gold continued, looking over the last paper. "I'll book a few interviews at the beginning of the year to promote the tour and the album and then your back on the road in April. Any questions?"

No one spoke up and Emma and David shook their heads, so Gold continued.

"Good. I believe it goes without saying that the rules we have in place are to be adhered to for the duration of your tour. I've added a few that will apply specifically when you're dealing with the press. Blue will go over them with you in the next few days."

Emma let out a defeated sigh at that. It was because of her and Regina's relationship that they had about a hundred rules. Part of Gold's job was keeping that fact secret from the world and he went above and beyond.

The sigh caught Regina's attention and she looked across Neal, who was sitting between them, to see the guilty expression on Emma's face. She knew Emma felt like it was their fault they all had to go through this, but Regina felt otherwise. They weren't doing anything wrong. If blame was to be placed anywhere, it would be placed squarely on Ever After's shoulders. The guys that ran the management company wanted clean cut, wholesome entertainment geared for a family audience. If they revealed that two members of one of the most popular bands in the world were in a same sex relationship it would cause a huge uproar and create controversy where there previously was none. There would be a drop in sales and their careers would take a huge hit, or that's what they told them every time they asked about the possibility of coming out.

And that's how they ended up where they were now, with a ton of rules for interacting with the press, fans, and each other, a fake boyfriend for Regina and a handful of fake dates for Emma, and hiding who they were from the world for the sake of their careers.

Regina wished she could do something to comfort her love, but at the moment she was powerless to do anything that would stop Emma mentally punishing herself. Instead she draped her arm over the back of Neal's chair and started winding a strand of Emma's long hair around her finger. She watched some of the tension in Emma's shoulders dissipate and green eyes met hers gratefully.

Blue snapping her fingers pulled Regina's attention away from her girlfriend. Regina glared at the woman for a moment before turning her attention back to Gold, keeping her hand where it was playing with Emma's curls.

"That's all I have for you today," Gold announced, clasping his hands together and resting them on the table. "If you don't have any questions for me, we're done here and I'll see you in a few months barring any urgent matters."

Gold stood and the five performers followed suit, glad that the meeting was almost over. He rounded the table and went down the line shaking their hands. When he reached Regina, he squeezed her hand a little too tight and leaned in so only she could hear him.

"You'll do well to keep that attitude of yours in check, Miss Mills," he hissed in her ear. "Have I made myself clear?"

Regina's jaw clenched and every cell in her body was screaming at her to get the hell away from the man. She stood her ground and looked the man in the eye.

"Crystal," she said lowly and held eye contact until Gold let go of her hand and left the room.

"What was that all about?" Emma questioned, instantly attaching herself to Regina's side.

"Nothing," Regina lied, taking Emma's hand in hers and lifting it to her lips to kiss her knuckles. Emma had enough to worry about without adding Gold's unwavering hatred of her to the list. "Let's go get ready for the show."

Emma smiled brightly and leaned in to press a quick kiss to Regina's lips before pulling the older girl out of the room. Regina couldn't help but grin as she followed Emma and the others down the hall and wonder how she got so lucky to have her girl in her life. Obstacles be damned.

* * *

Please let me know what you think!


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